FREE! TAKE ONE!
ORBIT BIG PLANET
Volume 15 #2
“News, reviews and opinions from the world of comics”
March 2011
Image’s New Rebirth I don’t know if it’s Robert Kirkman joining the staff at Image, or some new guy in their publishing department, but Image Comics have been putting out a huge amount of great new comics, many by brand-new or lesser known talent. And on top of that, most of the comics have had really good art and writing, often focusing on unusual or original ideas. Chew and Morning Glories broke out last year, and the trend is continuing. If you are looking for something new, Image is one of the best publishers right now! Here are some:
Who is Jake Ellis?
Dynamic art, and a great story of a criminal on the run with a guardian only he can see.
Carbon Grey
Echoes
Creepy horror about a schizophrenic who might be murdering children and not know it.
Daomu
Gorgeous cheesecake art, violent action, pseudofascist armies and zeppelins!
A hit from Asia about a team of grave robbers and ghosts.
Infinite Vacation
The Li’l Depressed Boy
Surreal scifi about multiple realities from Nick Spencer, creator of Morning Glories.
Pure drama, except for the strange design of the main character.
2 | www.bigplanetcomics.com
THE FACTS
Dollhouse Epitaphs Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse TV series continues into comics. Fear Itself: Book of the Skull Brubaker kicks off the Fear Itself crossover with this one shot about the Red Skull! FF #1 New costumes! Spider-Man on the team (just like back in What If #1)! Still same great Jonathan Hickman writing! Genius, Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth HC The amazing work of Alex Toth is finally presented in a nice new format. Genius! Godzilla: Monster World #1 Godzilla returns, with art by Eric Powell and written by Phil Hester! Plus a bunch of other Toho monsters! Lorna, Relic Wrangler Washington DC was built to summon a dark lord! Good thing Lorna is there to steal the artifact that can stop him… perhaps a certain Monument? Ruse #1 & Sigil #1 Two of CrossGen’s series return from Marvel! Venom #1 Flash Thompson is now in the Venom suit as special ops for the army! Written by Rick Remender and drawn by Tony Moore! Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #1 Before John Carter came to Mars, princess Dejah had her own adventures! Xombi #1 Xombi finally is in the DC Universe by creator John Rozum with art by Frazer Irving!
Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 Written by an imaginative 6 year old! Drawn by his 30 year old brother! Axe Cop and Dinosaur Cop must deal with the menace of the Bad Guy Earth! Perhaps the most fun (and funny) comic of the year!
Caligula #1 David Lapham turns from his stories of Wormwood and Crossed to tell the story of Caligula, one of the most depraved men of history!
Butcher Baker, Righteous Maker #1 A surreal superhero tale from Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston! Iron Man 2.0 #1 Nick Spencer (Morning Glories) and Barry Kitson bring War Machine back in style!
www.bigplanetcomics.com | 3
TRADE SECRETS Finder Library 1 In addition to the fantastic new Finder story (Voice), the early Finder stories are being reissued in a new format, for over 600 pages of story in the first volume! Screaming Planet HC Alexandro Jodorowsky tells short stories illustrated by greats such as J. H. Williams, Ladronn and Adi Granov! Batman and Robin 1: Batman Reborn SC The amazing tale of Dick Grayson and Damian by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely!
Takio HC Two sisters who drive each other crazy become the first superheroes in the world! A new all-ages series by Brian Bendis and Michael Oeming! Morning Glories 1: For a Better Future SC Image’s hot new hit has the first 6 issues for only 10 bucks! The Academy brings in gifted but troubled teens, but then cuts them off from the outside world and tortures them for an unknown purpose. It’s like an evil X-Men school! Gotham Central 1: In the Line of Duty SC The stories of the cops of Gotham City by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker. Amazing crime fiction! John Carter Warlord of Mars All 28 issues of Marvel’s John Carter comics, over 600 pages of scifi adventure! Stumptown 1 HC Greg Rucka presents modern private eye noir set in Portland, Oregon.
Term Life SC Nick Barrow has the mob, assassins, and dirty cops after him. But if he can survive 21 days, his daughter gets his life insurance payout. Brilliant crime story. Elias the Cursed SC Another fantasy epic from Humanoids, as Elias wanders the world with the face of the enemy who stole his land and his identity. Showcase: The Witching Hour 1 SC The horror anthology collected, with art by Neal Adams, Toth, Wrightson, Kaluta, Wally Wood, Gil Kane and more!
Time Bomb SC A hidden Nazi doomsday weapon forces a team of scientists to go back in time to Hitler’s Germany to stop it. Killing Hitler is what Time Machines were made for!
4 | www.bigplanetcomics.com
. e l l i v e i ind
What?! Indieville?! What’s that, you ask? Back in the olden days of yore, we used to spotlight the best of the indie comics world every month. Slowly over the last couple of years, that coverage was folded into our “TRADE SECRETS” and “THE FACTS” sections. But...NO MORE! We didn’t have anything to put on the back page, so Indieville is BACK! But enough with the pleasantries...time to BLURB! Lewis & Clark SC Probably best known for the award-winning (and contrioversial) Salon, Nick Bertozzi returns to tell the incredible real-life saga of Lewis and Clark’s expedition to find a water route across America. A perfect gift for fans of indie comics and the Louisiana Purchase! The Klondike SC First time graphic novelist Zach Worton tells the tale of the Klondike Gold Rush and the taming of the Great White North. Pair this with Bertozzi’s Lewis & Clark and you can learn about the exploration of 1/3 of North America! 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente SC Actual-factual historical graphic novels seem to be dominating this months Indieville, so let’s keep that trend moving along with 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente! This graphic novel follows Clemente from his roots in Puerto Rico to his dominance of Major League Baseball in the sixties through to his tragic end. It’s a story worth reading and is sure to go down as one of the great sports graphic novels. Thus ends the historical graphic novel section of this month’s Indieville!
Night Animals Belgian cartoonist Brecht Evens’ The Wrong Place was somehow at the same time one of the most praised and one of the most overlooked comics of 2010. Reminiscent of contemporary powerhouses like Dash Shaw and Frank Santoro, Evens’ use of color and space was enough to put most artists to shame. In Night Animals, he continues to amaze. One to watch. Incredible Change-Bots Two Did you read Incredible Change-Bots? If you didn’t, I am going to assume that you hate fun. If you did, I do not need to tell you that this is one of the funniest books ever. A great book for fans of Transformers, people who hate Transformers, or people who have no opinion about Transformers. Death-Day Sam Hiti’s Death-Day has to be seen to be believed. Imagine Paul Pope and Alex Toth teaming up and painting a Dune comic with a horse tail and you’re about halfway there. To make it the rest of the way there, you’ll just have to read this idiosyncratic artistic masterpiece. That’s right! MASTERPIECE! That’s all for this month! And don’t forget...oh, wait. I forgot.
Big Planet Orbit Volume 15 #2; March, 2011
is published by Joel Pollack, Peter Casazza, Jared Smith, and Greg Bennett for Big Planet Comics. Big Planet Comics, Inc. 4908 Fairmont Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814, 301.654.6856 Big Planet Comics of VA Inc. 426 Maple Ave. East, Vienna, VA 22180, 703.242.9412 Big Planet Comics of DC Inc. 3145 Dumbarton St. NW, Washington, DC 20007, 202.342.1961 Big Planet Comics of College Park Inc. 7315 Baltimore Ave., College Park, MD 20740, 301.699.0498